Chapter 4091: Winning Without a Fight (Part 2)

"We’ll show everyone that the Indech’s reveal changes nothing. We still hold all the cards, and nobody can stop us. Keeping the forces of the Kingdom busy on multiple fronts will ensure a high survival rate, which in turn will help us preserve our momentum.

"Soon, our potential recruits will realize that the hypothetical future of the Indech is pointless if we take the power in the present. More Awakened will join our ranks, we’ll keep the Kingdom on its knees, and everyone will forget about Verhen.

"Many birds with one stone."

"Excellent plan." Orpal said. "What’s our first move?"

"The Kingdom now expects our return, so we can’t go in blindly again." Jorl took a map out of his dimensional amulet. "We need to conduct a thorough scouting of our future targets to figure out their anti-Upyr defenses.

"As I said, we need to strike fast, hard, and retreat with minimal casualties in order to maintain our strength and whittle the enemy’s until we have enough recruits for another full-scale attack."

"Brilliant." Orpal nodded. "Do everything you need. You have my full support. And Jorl?"

"Yes, my liege?" Orpal knew that the Storm Griffon acted polite in front of Akhton only for discipline’s sake, but he loved feel respected anyway.

"I’m glad to have you by my side." Orpal replied. "You always manage to turn things around."

"The pleasure is mine." Jorl gave a small bow, quickly followed by the Bastet, before leaving the room.

’Are you really planning to put our lives at risk and fight on multiple fronts with the little troops we have left?’ Akhton asked via a mind link to avoid being overheard as he snarled in outrage.

’Of course not, you dolt.’ The Storm Griffon gave the Bastet a withering look that snuffed his rage and made Akhton doubt his own intelligence. ’Don’t forget that first we have to scout our targets, which allows us to leave the fortress with Orpal’s blessing whenever we want.

’We’ll do everything properly, but it’s just a cover for our real goal. When Uragar and Salanoth find the Black Throne, we’ll just say it’s another scouting mission, and Orpal will suspect nothing.

’The Indech is actually a blessing in disguise. It gives us a perfect excuse to move around the Kingdom, and by leading the troops, I can inspire loyalty in the Upyrs so that when we rebel, they’ll side with us.

’If we play our cards well, we’ll have him defeated and chained at our feet before he even notices.’

***

Lustria County, Verhen Mansion, the next day.

"Congratulations again, Friya. The ceremony yesterday was splendid. Where are you going for your honeymoon?" Kamila asked.

"Good question." Friya sighed. "The short answer is that I have no idea."

"How is that possible?" Solus said while setting the table for breakfast. "You have plenty of money, and the Warp Gates can lead you anywhere you want. What’s the issue?"

"Yesterday’s Gernoff attack, to say one." Friya drummed her fingers on the table. "I don’t want to travel with the constant fear that Mom might need my help and my amulet glued to my side.

"Then there is the matter of my training with Faluel. So far, I’m a Harbinger in name only. My skills as a Hydra are laughable at best."

"Why do you say that?" Quylla asked. "How many heads have you mastered?"

"One." Friya underlined the concept by banging her head on the table. "My own."

"You made no progress after an entire month?" Quylla was flabbergasted.

"No, I made *little* progress after *just* a month." Friya grunted. "Having multiple thinking heads isn’t as easy as it seems. My extra heads do nothing but argue, whine, and hiss at each other nonstop."

"That sounds like a you problem." Quylla chuckled. "That’s literally you."

Not wanting to sour Friya’s mood and open his marriage with a quarrel, Nalrond remained silent.

"Very funny! I bet that if you were in my shoes, you’d have achieved even less because you would spend your time stuffing your seven faces and need to be dragged away from the pantry!" Friya struck the moment her sister started to wolf down the food.

"That’s unfair!" Quylla replied, almost choking on her biscuits. Almost. "I was pregnant, and now I have to feed the twins. I eat because I need lots of energy. Besides, I’ve done a lot of work in the past nine months.

"You can’t focus on my eating habits and sweep everything else under the rug."

"Quylla is right." Solus wolfed her chocolate cake down in indignation, feeling personally attacked. "I... I mean, Quylla worked hard, and using so much mana burns a lot of calories. A mage eats to keep her strength."

Friya had many counterpoints to raise, but the children’s snickering at Solus’ words proved her point.

"Why are you laughing?" Solus and Quylla glared at the children, but with their cheeks bloated with food, they looked like angry, overgrown squirrels.

"Nothing." Aran gasped, trying and failing to repress his laughter.

"I’m sorry, Auntie." Leria giggled. "We didn’t mean to."

"Just for your information, I’m on a diet, and I’ve already lost some weight." Solus blushed hard, putting the second plate of cookies away.

"Baby when?" Fenrir jumped on Solus’ lap, patting her soft belly. "Is it more than one, Auntie?"

Solus looked in the little girl’s round, innocent eyes and wished to die in that very moment to be put out of her misery.

"You don’t have to worry about me, dear." Jirni chimed in, rescuing both women from further embarrassment. "Your father and I can manage on our own. Besides, I’m reasonably certain that the Gernoffs won’t try anything for a while."

"Reasonably doesn’t mean completely, Mom." Friya wished she could comment on Selia grabbing Fenrir before she finished asking Quylla if she was pregnant again, but she didn’t.

Not out of sisterly bond, but only because she knew that soon it would be her turn.

"Quite the contrary, they may attack exactly because you don’t expect them to."

"That’s not how the Gernoff household operates, pumpkin." Orion said. "They don’t do something reckless just because it’s unexpected. Their goal is not to surprise their enemy, but to win."

"About that, there’s something I don’t understand." Quylla said, having a hard time giving up on the third serving of sponge cake. "How come the Gernoffs took so long to make their move?

"They are an ancient, powerful household, and yet sent only one... scout. Why didn’t they come in numbers? I don’t mean just yesterday, but also the other times we left the Mansion."

"As your father said, that’s not how the Gernoff operate, sweetie." Jirni replied. "If you are thinking about someone who walks to a castle’s gates and crashes them before engaging in a furious battle, that would be Juria Ernas or Tessa the Titania, not Oghrom.

"He wasn’t the warrior type and rarely fought." Seeing the confusion on her daughter’s faces, Jirni asked: "Do you know when short weapons like my needles or knives work best?"

"Close range?" Friya tried.

"Wrong." Jirni shook her head. "Polearms and swords are much better for that. Knives offer little reach and no hand protection. One wrong move and you lose your fingers if not the... duel."

Jirni looked at the children, who nodded enthusiastically.

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